I'm not a fantasy fan, but I was talked into watching Game of Thrones. I've bingewatched it on HBO and am currently on the last episode of season 6.

What is your thoughts on it?

I liked it! Though some plot elements were predictable, the series as a whole wasn't. The money put into the series, the effort and the actors made it worthwhile. I was glad to see not only Julian Glover, but Diana Rigg in such a prominent role (and my favorite Swedish actor, Max von Sydow also made a brief appearance. When the character first appeared and was played by another actor, I thought that it would've been a good part for von Sydow and then he turned up in a later season). However, the storyline in which he appeared, Bran's journey, was the one that I found to be the least interesting. I also found it difficult to find a character to root for.

I thought that I wouldn't finish the first seven seasons before April, but it only took a few weeks...

I liked it! Though some plot elements were predictable, the series as a whole wasn't. The money put into the series, the effort and the actors made it worthwhile. I was glad to see not only Julian Glover, but Diana Rigg in such a prominent role (and my favorite Swedish actor, Max von Sydow also made a brief appearance. When the character first appeared and was played by another actor, I thought that it would've been a good part for von Sydow and then he turned up in a later season). However, the storyline in which he appeared, Bran's journey, was the one that I found to be the least interesting. I also found it difficult to find a character to root for.

I thought that I wouldn't finish the first seven seasons before April, but it only took a few weeks...

Not having a character to root, or said another way...hating almost everyone, was one of the reasons it took me so long to get caught up. I watched season 1 when it aired, but was bummed out by the ending and didn't get back to it for another 2 years. Then I think I watched another 2 seasons and again found myself needing some time away from it. It felt in early season like everyone I was rooting for was being taken out, sometimes in the most painful manner.

I think things started to turn around and I started to see some light as I moved through the middle seasons. Last year, I got caught up before the new season.

One thing that actually helped give me something to look forward to was going to the Ramin Djawadi/Game of Thrones concert a few years ago when it was in town. I was not caught up, but went anyway as I was a fan of his and had listened to all the seasons score by that point. Seeing some of the footage on the big screens at the concert, especially one of the battles, had me really looking forward to getting to that point in the show.

Tough watch, and don't care for some of the extreme violence, but the overall arc has me hooked.

Original airing/new was The Walking Dead 9.18, "The Storm." Two-Word Review: Bore. Ring. One-Word Summary: Snow. Non spoiler critique: Watching a station with no programming, no signal, just static, i.e., "snow," would have been only slightly less entertaining. Everything the episode did could have been covered in ninety seconds, two minutes, tops. It ran an hour and nine minutes. Afterward, I made the mistake of staying up and watching Talking Dead, delayed to make room for a repeat of Killing Eve. I have no interest in that program. Of course, I ended up not having any interest in the soporific that was Talking Dead, either.

Last thing I watched was Downton Abbey, 4.1, via disc. Most TV is predictable, but this show seems to be even more predictable than most. Either that, or...

I'm currently rewatching Star Trek: Enterprise on Netflix. Somewhat flawed, but still an enormously much better Star Trek show than Discovery.

I need to give it a watch from beginning to end.

When it was on TV, I watched the first few episodes of season 1, then stopped, finding it to be more of the same bored, tired storytelling that Voyager had featured. I caught an odd episode here and there during season 2.

Season 3, given the introduction of a season long arc, and caught a few more episodes.

Season 4, under new creative direction (Manny Coto), I watched the whole season. I still found it flawed, or better in concept than execution, but it was certainly lightyears ahead of previous seasons.

It probably be worthwhile to watch the first 3 season having missed most of it, and to revisit the 4th. I've seen good deals at times on the BD set, so maybe at some point I'll grab that.

I'm currently rewatching Star Trek: Enterprise on Netflix. Somewhat flawed, but still an enormously much better Star Trek show than Discovery.

I need to give it a watch from beginning to end.

When it was on TV, I watched the first few episodes of season 1, then stopped, finding it to be more of the same bored, tired storytelling that Voyager had featured. I caught an odd episode here and there during season 2.

Season 3, given the introduction of a season long arc, and caught a few more episodes.

Season 4, under new creative direction (Manny Coto), I watched the whole season. I still found it flawed, or better in concept than execution, but it was certainly lightyears ahead of previous seasons.

It probably be worthwhile to watch the first 3 season having missed most of it, and to revisit the 4th. I've seen good deals at times on the BD set, so maybe at some point I'll grab that.

I prefer an episodic structure before an arc one, just as long as previous events aren't "forgotten". A few episodes are weak, but overall I like the show. I first saw it when it aired on Swedish public service which only aired seasons 1-2 between May 2003 and August 2004 (they had previously aired all seven seasons of Voyager between 1998 and 2003 which is a much worse show). It wasn't until I got Netflix that I watched the third and fourth seasons (and I watched rather inattentive). Too bad it couldn't have gotten a fifth...

I prefer an episodic structure before an arc one, just as long as previous events aren't "forgotten". A few episodes are weak, but overall I like the show. I first saw it when it aired on Swedish public service which only aired seasons 1-2 between May 2003 and August 2004 (they had previously aired all seven seasons of Voyager between 1998 and 2003 which is a much worse show). It wasn't until I got Netflix that I watched the third and fourth seasons (and I watched rather inattentive). Too bad it couldn't have gotten a fifth...

I really wish the 4th season had been the first. What a series we could have gotten if they'd started with the 4th season content.

Whoo, boy. Its been worse with every episode. Not thrilled. Characters being moved around a chess board by writers who don't seem to know how to play chess. A clear sense of thinking from the end and just moving the characters there without much consideration for what their arc's been.

Martin might have provided them with the plot points, but they clearly have no idea how to connect the dots, are too rushed to be able to, or both.

Whoo, boy. Its been worse with every episode. Not thrilled. Characters being moved around a chess board by writers who don't seem to know how to play chess. A clear sense of thinking from the end and just moving the characters there without much consideration for what their arc's been.

Martin might have provided them with the plot points, but they clearly have no idea how to connect the dots, are too rushed to be able to, or both.

Sad.

Yes, sadly it has gotten truly awful. I'm glad that I didn't watch the series over eight years (I watched seasons 1-7 December '18 to January).

The last thing I watched was the Star Trek: Enterprise episode Demons on Netflix.

Yes, sadly it has gotten truly awful. I'm glad that I didn't watch the series over eight years (I watched seasons 1-7 December '18 to January).

Me too, I guess. Though I'm almost regretful I wasted my time, regardless of how I watched it.

It's been a heavy show, so I've taken breaks (often of a few years) every season or couple of seasons. I got caught up before season 7, and then have watched the episodes as they aired these last two seasons.

You might have seen the GRRM blog post link I shared on Facebook. I liked his approach of not being openly critical, yet clearly hammering home that his ending is better set for success (assuming he ever finished): He pointed out the showrunners having "only" 6 episodes to finish, while his last 2 books will be ~3000 manuscript pages. He pointed out with his "yes, no, no, yes, no, yes" bit that there will be some similarities but also differences. And then he referenced "butterfly effect" when talking about some characters being alive in his versus dead in the tv show (and vice versa), which points to a ripple effect of differences there too.

Honestly, even if all the big end points were the same, just him developing things much more over many, many pages will bring a stark (:laugh:) difference. But you add in his acknowledgment of some things being different, and butterfly effect from some of those differences...I'm excited. As excited as one can be when its in realistic doubt he finishes.